The Kabul to Darulaman tramway

[Photo of locos in Kabul. Wim Brummelman]

A 2'6" gauge tramway ran for about 7km from Kabul southwest to Darulaman. It had two 0-4-0 well tank locomotives, built by Henschel in Kassel as works numbers 19680, 19681 of 1923. A third loco of approximately 60cm gauge has also survived at Darulaman.

Then ...

Wilhelm Rieck from Berlin was in Kabul in 1923. He was one of a number of Germans who worked in Afghanistan by request of King Amanullah, and was in charge of building electrical installations, in particular at Darulaman palace. He travelled to Kabul, Kandahar, India, and Teheran taking photographs, and his great-grandson Werner Müller sent me these two photos of the railway. The Germans also built a school, which has a website which shows some of Rieck's photos

First railway from Darulaman to Kabul
Railway Darulaman - Kabul
First official tour (without any representatives of the government)

The original caption reads:

Die erste Eisenbahn von Darulaman nach Kabul
Eisenbahn Darulaman - Kabul
Erste offizielle Fahrt (ohne irgendwelche Regierungsvertretung!)

Railway line after the first rain
Tracks on the way after the first rainy days!
(Installation of the railway line as it should not be made.)
Afghanistan

German caption:

Eisenbahngleis nach dem ersten Regen
Gleise, unterwegs nach den ersten Regentagen!
(Verlegung des Gleises, wie es nicht gemacht werden soll.)
Afghanistan

... and now

Despite everything, the steam locos have survived, at first in their shed at the Kabul museum in Darulaman, and now out in the open. On October 13 2004 Wim Brummelman found three locos at Darulaman, in the yard behind the museum! Most sources had suggested there were only two locos. All three would appear to be the same type, presuambly Henschels. Can any one tell me what model they might be, or supply any more details?

In the shed

Two of the locos were photographed by Frank Selman in 1975, when they were still in the shed.

[Photo of loco shed. Frank Selman, 1975]

[Photo of locomotive in the shed. Frank Selman, 1975]

[Photo of loco from rear. Frank Selman, 1975]

On the side of one locomotive is some c.1975 graffiti in Pashtu. It says (roughly) In memory of us here from [the name of a school] on this plaque, followed by several names such as Ahdur Rahim, Matollah and Sultan Mahmed. It seems some schoolchildren visited the Kabul Museum opposite the engine shed, and one of them had a piece of crayon in his pocket.

Map

Sheet I-42 J Kabul was originally compiled and published under the direction of the Surveyor-General of India 1916, and revised to 1940. This edition was published by the War Office in 1942 and reprinted by the US Army Map Service in October 1942. Original scale 1:253 440. The line was almost certainly disused by 1942.

[Map showing Kabul to Darulaman tramway]

Map courtesy of The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.